1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to a multiple flavor post-mix beverage dispensing apparatus, to a kit for conversion of a single flavor post-mix beverage dispensing apparatus to a multiple flavor dispensing apparatus, and to a method of dispensing an alternative post-mixed beverage from a post-mix dispensing valve having a first and primary beverage.
2. The Prior Art
Electrically operable post-mix dispensing valves have usually had two solenoids. One solenoid will open a water valve and a second solenoid will open a syrup valve. The most common valve of this type is used by The Coca-Cola Company and manufactured by Alco Standard. This valve is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,540,476. A structure in kit form has been developed that enables this two-solenoid valve to dispense either its primary beverage or a second and alternative beverage. This valve has separate solenoids for water and primary syrup. This valve is known for dispensing warm drinks because of heat from the dual solenoids. The kit structure includes a secondary syrup valve. The dispensing valve is rewired with a bi-stable toggle switch which is flipped to either primary or secondary beverage. When a common actuator lever is depressed, a single switch then opens either the water valve and the primary syrup valve, or only the water valve and the alternate syrup valve. This kit will not work on single solenoid post-mix valves. This kit requires the use of a toggle switch to change from one beverage to another. The toggle switch must be correctly set upon the desired beverage before dispensing is begun.
A second example of a single flavor post-mix valve being converted into a three flavor post-mix valve is an effort by The Cornelius Company of Anoka, Minn. This effort pre-dates the previously described Coca-Cola and Alco Standard effort and was successfully reduced to practice at least as early as Apr. 12, 1978, but has not been patented in the U.S. or elsewhere. Cornelius manual No. 31-6318-000 of Apr. 12, 1978 documents this effort, which was done on a coin-actuatable cold-cup dispensing machine specifically for the Coca-Cola Company. The Cornelius device has a single dispensing head of the type shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,455,332 and 3,667,724. This valve, which was originally a single solenoid valve, was rebuilt with two solenoids. There was a first solenoid on the water valve and a discrete second solenoid on the syrup valve. A pair of extra syrup lines were run into the nozzle of the dispensing head and each of the extra syrup lines had a discrete normally closed syrup solenoid valve. The electrical controls were a conventional vending machine panel with touch switches. The vending machine is shown in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 256,376. The control circuitry would open the dispensing head water valve and syrup valve for the primary beverage, which was usually Coca-Cola. For the second beverage, the water valve and the syrup solenoid valve in the first extra syrup line would be opened while the dispensing head syrup valve was left closed. For the third beverage, the water valve and the syrup solenoid valve in the second extra syrup line would be opened while the dispensing head syrup valve remained closed.
Neither of these prior efforts contemplated or devised conversion of a single solenoid single flavor post-mix head into a multiple flavor post-mix head. The problem with the single solenoid head is that both water and syrup valves are now opened by a single solenoid and selective control is not possible.